CAMBRIDGE, England and CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Acambis plc (Acambis) , a leading developer of vaccines against infectious diseases, has given the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) the right to distribute its investigational ChimeriVax(TM) vaccines against viruses including West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis virus to any US or international public health laboratory for their use as diagnostic tests. To date, at least 20 US and international public health laboratories have received Acambis' ChimeriVax vaccines for this purpose and a number are already successfully using them for diagnostic and surveillance purposes.
Olga Kosoy, Microbiologist, Diagnostic and Reference Activity, at the CDC, presented the poster "Evaluation of chimeric flaviviruses as a diagnostic tool" at the Clinical Virology Symposium and the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology held in Clearwater Beach, Florida, this week. Kosoy et al's evaluation found that Acambis' ChimeriVax vaccines offer several advantages over traditional diagnostic testing methods including a shorter test duration, more definitive results and the ability to conduct the tests under Biosafety level 2 conditions, whereas more restrictive, costly and difficult requirements apply when using standard virus strains.
Dr Thomas Monath, Chief Scientific Officer of Acambis, commented:
"Acambis is proud to assist in the rapid and accurate diagnosis of West Nile and other flavivirus diseases by donating our ChimeriVax vaccine candidates for use by public health departments. As the CDC's poster showed, our investigational vaccines offer a number of benefits over traditional diagnostic tests, extending the utility of Acambis' ChimeriVax vaccine technology platform."
Acambis' ChimeriVax technology is the basis for its vaccine candidate against Japanese encephalitis, which is in Phase 3 clinical testing, as well as its investigational vaccines against West Nile virus and dengue, which are both in Phase 2 clinical trials. Acambis' proprietary ChimeriVax technology was originally developed in collaboration with St. Louis University.
About Acambis
Acambis is a leading developer of vaccines to prevent and treat infectious diseases. Recognised internationally as the leading producer of smallpox vaccines, Acambis is developing an investigational smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, and is manufacturing emergency-use stockpiles of this investigational vaccine for the US Government and other governments around the world. It is also developing an attenuated smallpox vaccine, MVA3000, under contracts with the US National Institutes of Health. Acambis' US-based subsidiary Berna Products Corporation markets Vivotif(R), the world's only licensed oral typhoid vaccine, in North America. Acambis' investigational vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, ChimeriVax-JE, is undergoing Phase 3 clinical testing. It also has the most advanced investigational vaccine against the West Nile virus, which has spread to 48 US States in the last six years, and a vaccine against Clostridium difficile bacteria, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections.
Acambis is based in Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange (ACM) and its shares are listed in the form of American Depositary Receipts on NASDAQ (ACAM). More information is available at www.acambis.com.
"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
The statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the timing and results of clinical trials, product development, manufacturing and commercialisation risks, the risks of satisfying the regulatory approval process in a timely manner, the need for and the availability of additional capital. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties see "Risk management" in the Company's 2004 Annual Report and "Risk factors" in its Form 20-F, in addition to those detailed on the Company's website and in the Company's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the management of Acambis and are believed to be reasonable, though are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Actual results or experience could differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
Acambis plcCONTACT: Enquiries: Acambis: Lyndsay Wright, VP, Communications andInvestor Relations, Tel: +44(0)1223-275-300; Financial Dynamics: DavidYates/Anna Keeble, Tel: +44(0)20-7831-3113
